Touring Bike

[cvdup]

As one dreams about escaping the rat race you come up with some great ideas.

So I want to get my hands on a proper touring (not bike packing) bike and set it up for longer distances and travel.

My limited research however shows no options in SA and very few of the real touring bike brands ship to South Africa.

I need somE advice:

1. What are some real world travel bike options (to Carry the weight and to be comfortable)

2. How do I get them here - unless I fly there to buy 🤷‍♂️

 

 

[Prince Albert Cycles]

Not sure what you are looking for ?
you say no bikepacking but want a bike that can carry weight?
I have build a touring bike for a customer from scratch so if you are more specific I may be able to offer a few tips

[Dusty]

@cvdup https://www.cycletouring.co.za/ carries touring bikes and the full kit. Grant is a tourist himself, so full of good advice, and if he doesn't have what you are looking for, will be able to help you source it.

Edited April 3 by Dusty

[NickGM]

9 hours ago, cvdup said:

As one dreams about escaping the rat race you come up with some great ideas.

So I want to get my hands on a proper touring (not bike packing) bike and set it up for longer distances and travel.

My limited research however shows no options in SA and very few of the real touring bike brands ship to South Africa.

I need somE advice:

1. What are some real world travel bike options (to Carry the weight and to be comfortable)

2. How do I get them here - unless I fly there to buy 🤷‍♂️

 

 

I was faced with the same issue a 2 years back. There are many international options, but not many available here. In the end I ordered a fuji touring disc off chain reaction cycles. I got it shipped here. The rand was a bit stronger than it is now and after shipping, tax and duties it came in under R30K. It was a fantastic bike and could handle a full load for a 3 month trans-continental trip without any issues.

I'm not sure those bikes are still for sale though. Fewer and fewer companies make genuine touring bikes these days, which is a pity. On my trip only 5% of the other riders I saw had bikepacking setups. Bikepacking/gravel bikes have their place, but for comfortable long distance touring they are not the right tool for the job.

So I would try https://www.cycletouring.co.za/ as recommended, the gent there (Grant I think his name is) is really helpful and he does stock those Vsf Fahrradmanufaktur bikes which are very popular for touring in Europe.

Another option is finding an early 90s era MTB with no front suspension. Some of the very first specialized stumpjumpers are famous for making good touring bikes.

Otherwise you may as well buy there as you suggested. Where is "there", btw?

 

[cvdup]

1 hour ago, Dusty said:

@cvdup https://www.cycletouring.co.za/ carries touring bikes and the full kit. Grant is a tourist himself, so full of good advice, and if he doesn't have what you are looking for, will be able to help you source it.

Thanks for the advice. Will make contact.

[cvdup]

34 minutes ago, NickGM said:

I was faced with the same issue a 2 years back. There are many international options, but not many available here. In the end I ordered a fuji touring disc off chain reaction cycles. I got it shipped here. The rand was a bit stronger than it is now and after shipping, tax and duties it came in under R30K. It was a fantastic bike and could handle a full load for a 3 month trans-continental trip without any issues.

I'm not sure those bikes are still for sale though. Fewer and fewer companies make genuine touring bikes these days, which is a pity. On my trip only 5% of the other riders I saw had bikepacking setups. Bikepacking/gravel bikes have their place, but for comfortable long distance touring they are not the right tool for the job.

So I would try https://www.cycletouring.co.za/ as recommended, the gent there (Grant I think his name is) is really helpful and he does stock those Vsf Fahrradmanufaktur bikes which are very popular for touring in Europe.

Another option is finding an early 90s era MTB with no front suspension. Some of the very first specialized stumpjumpers are famous for making good touring bikes.

Otherwise you may as well buy there as you suggested. Where is "there", btw?

 

Thanks Nick

I have a gravel bike but looking for something touring specific, which can carry a full load (panniers and gear) for longer (and more comfortable) distances.

I have no idea where “there” is. 
The US have Surely, Tumbleweed and a gew others and Europa also have a few options. 
 

The dream is a long distance tourer which I can keep for life. 

[Shebeen]

10 hours ago, cvdup said:

As one dreams about escaping the rat race you come up with some great ideas.

So I want to get my hands on a proper touring (not bike packing) bike and set it up for longer distances and travel.

My limited research however shows no options in SA and very few of the real touring bike brands ship to South Africa.

I need somE advice:

1. What are some real world travel bike options (to Carry the weight and to be comfortable)

2. How do I get them here - unless I fly there to buy 🤷‍♂️

 

 

https://forum.bikehub.co.za/topic/178732-long-distance-bicycle-touring/

[Mamil]

What's the difference between my 2019 checkpoint aluminium with bosses for 3 bottles in triangle and for frame bag and mudguards etc and a touring bike?

[cvdup]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

What's the difference between my 2019 checkpoint aluminium with bosses for 3 bottles in triangle and for frame bag and mudguards etc and a touring bike?

I am no touring boffin (yet) but the answer might be steel vs aluminium- carrying capacity.

obviously there would be other technical things, but maybe the experts can help.

[NickGM]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

What's the difference between my 2019 checkpoint aluminium with bosses for 3 bottles in triangle and for frame bag and mudguards etc and a touring bike?

By no means an expert, but this is my experience:

Geom: a traditional tourer will have longer chainstays. This makes more space for big panniers and gives a longer wheel base. They often have a lower BB too for stability. See the link to the surly bike further down. 460mm chainstays. It feels like driving a hearse.

Material: steel is good for a number of reasons. I'm not sure I buy the whole "suppleness" thing but more importantly steel has very good fatigue properties relative to alu, and can be welded in the middle of nowhere without specialist skills.

Gear range: normally traditional tourers have a bigger gear range, with 3x10 mtb group sets (or rohloff hubs) being popular. Whatever the case, if you are touring for months with heavy luggage and going through the mountains, then you need a better granny gear than most gravel bikes provide.

A lot of it is semantics. You can "tour" on anything you want and you can "bikepack" on anything you want. But when people say "touring bike" most of the time they mean this (heavy load with panniers and sluggish steel bikes):

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/legacy/long_haul_trucker

And when they say "bikepacking" they mean this (lighter load with framebags and gravel bikes or mtbs):

https://bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101/

Forum moderators on reddit will move your post from /biketouring to /bikepacking if you are only traveling with framebags and not panniers. I've seen it happen. 

 

[Brakepad]

if you want the bike to last forever, there are not many choices. 
One not to miss is this one Velotraum | Fahrräder aus Weil der Stadt

[Mook]

4 hours ago, NickGM said:

I was faced with the same issue a 2 years back. There are many international options, but not many available here. In the end I ordered a fuji touring disc off chain reaction cycles. I got it shipped here. The rand was a bit stronger than it is now and after shipping, tax and duties it came in under R30K. It was a fantastic bike and could handle a full load for a 3 month trans-continental trip without any issues.

I'm not sure those bikes are still for sale though. Fewer and fewer companies make genuine touring bikes these days, which is a pity. On my trip only 5% of the other riders I saw had bikepacking setups. Bikepacking/gravel bikes have their place, but for comfortable long distance touring they are not the right tool for the job.

So I would try https://www.cycletouring.co.za/ as recommended, the gent there (Grant I think his name is) is really helpful and he does stock those Vsf Fahrradmanufaktur bikes which are very popular for touring in Europe.

Another option is finding an early 90s era MTB with no front suspension. Some of the very first specialized stumpjumpers are famous for making good touring bikes.

Otherwise you may as well buy there as you suggested. Where is "there", btw?

 

I went the 90's 26" Hardtail MTB route for a few reasons:

1) Budget; 2)Steel frame; 3)Old school cantilever brakes because anybody can maintain or fix them when out in the sticks. If these brakes could stop a Ritchey or Fisher flying down a mountainside, they could stop my fully laden touring bike - which they did going down Bainskloof, Du Toits and Franschhoek passes; 4)3x8 Groupset since most rural "fietswinkels" will probably stock components + drivetrain parts are dirt cheap; 5)26" wheels since wheel parts for these is not an issue; 6)Standard cargo racks and panniers fit these frames without any issues, ie. disc brake caliper spacings etc. 7)Geometry of this frame is perfect for me.

This bike is not light, but that is the price I am prepared to pay. I do not do the guesthouse or AirB&B accommodation routine. Tent and food goes on the bike. Fully loaded comes to 31kg with my 85kg on top of that.

Enjoy your project 🤙

[Shebeen]

12 minutes ago, Mook said:

I went the 90's 26" Hardtail MTB route for a few reasons:

1) Budget; 2)Steel frame; 3)Old school cantilever brakes because anybody can maintain or fix them when out in the sticks. If these brakes could stop a Ritchey or Fisher flying down a mountainside, they could stop my fully laden touring bike - which they did going down Bainskloof, Du Toits and Franschhoek passes; 4)3x8 Groupset since most rural "fietswinkels" will probably stock components + drivetrain parts are dirt cheap; 5)26" wheels since wheel parts for these is not an issue; 6)Standard cargo racks and panniers fit these frames without any issues, ie. disc brake caliper spacings etc. 7)Geometry of this frame is perfect for me.

This bike is not light, but that is the price I am prepared to pay. I do not do the guesthouse or AirB&B accommodation routine. Tent and food goes on the bike. Fully loaded comes to 31kg with my 85kg on top of that.

Enjoy your project 🤙

touche!! I did about 4000km on this db topanga I got for CAD50 in 2004, made it all the way to whiteshorse,YK (with some ferries helping me).

Only ever had issues with rear wheel punctures, but was mainly on tar. If i went proper touring again I would be hard pressed to decide between newer tech or go looking for another barnfind DB Topanga on gumtree

 

 

 

[Zebra]

Longer chainstays help with HEEL clearance, meaning the back of foot then will not make contact with rear panniers, and this also handily provides a more-stable ride (less twitchy).

That said, i used a Cannondale rigid fork MTB for much of my touring, but made sure the pannier bags could be mounted well back, for heel clearance - it IS a thing!

 

[cvdup]

2 hours ago, Zebra said:

Longer chainstays help with HEEL clearance, meaning the back of foot then will not make contact with rear panniers, and this also handily provides a more-stable ride (less twitchy).

That said, i used a Cannondale rigid fork MTB for much of my touring, but made sure the pannier bags could be mounted well back, for heel clearance - it IS a thing!

 

Not sure why my replies aren’t showing.

Wanted to sat this is a big tip which I would not have considered when buying a bike.

 

 

Edited April 3 by cvdup

[cvdup]

Cycling is such an irrational thing.

Do I really need a touring bike - probably not. Do I want one. Hell yes!!

I start dreaming about quitting my job and riding around the world.

I try not to fuel my fire and then stumble upon photos of the Rondo Mutt ST

 Or I watch documentaries like this….

https://youtu.be/caCM58F3yHA?si=JCoyNOchua8bPTvc